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Huygens sets off with correct spin and speed On Christmas Day 2004, the Cassini spacecraft flawlessly released ESA`s Huygens probe, passing another challenging milestone for Cassini-Huygens mission. But, with no telemetry data from Huygens, how do we know the separation went well?At 3:00 CET on 25 December, the critical sequence loaded into the software on board Cassini was executed and, within a few seconds, Huygens was sent on its 20-day trip towards Titan. As data from Cassini confirm, the pyrotechnic devices were fired to release a set of three loaded springs, which gently pushed Huygens away from the mother spacecraft. The probe was expected to be released at a relative velocity of about 0.35 metres per second with a spin rate of about 7.5 revolutions per minute.
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